The next couple of days were busy for Grace and Myungsoo. It was rather awkward still between the both of them but they work in sync. There was the occasional talk as they passed by each other or when they were fixing Eunhye's room which was once upon a time used to be the guest room. Her apartment was transformed with children things and she didn't know how to feel about it.

Of course, when Grace told her mother about this, the older woman was estatic to meet the little girl and offered her service. The next day, she came to the house bearing gifts for the granddaughter she never thought she would have. On that same day, her mother also saw Myungsoo wearing a black tank top, showing off his toned arm muscles and his hair was flatten on his forehead. Grace's mother immediately pulled Grace into the kitchen and started interrogating her about the handsome young man who could potentially be her son-in-law.

"Mother, I don't even know him that well." 

"Well, he is good looking and he is very good with kids. So, get to know him!" 

Eunhye on the other hand was estatic to have a grandmother and she warmed up to her easily. Myungsoo would help her build blocks while her Mrs. Fang would talk to Myungsoo about the toddler. Grace would busy with her work and she could tell that her mother was the least impressed with her behaviour but Myungsoo laughed it off saying that he didn't mind. The little girl with black hair, although she loved Myungsoo, she wanted Grace to play with her too. 

"When will Mama Gracie come out to play?" She would ask her new grandmother and Myungsoo. They - Grace and Myungsoo - came to terms that she would call her Mama Gracie since she wasn't comfortable in replacing Haerin for good. She wanted to be called aunty but Myungsoo and her mother didn't approve of that title. 

"She is busy with work, Eunhye-ah." Myungsoo reasoned but the little girl only sighed. "She is always busy." She said, her little finger tracing the parquet flooring. 

Now, the older woman was fed up with Grace using the excuse of work. She knew her daughter like the back of her hand why she was ignoring the little girl. It reminded her too much of the past. "I will go get her for you." Mrs. Fang announced, standing up, dusting her knees as she did. She walked towards the door of her daughter's bedroom and knocked a few times before entering. 

There sitting at her study table with her laptop open was her daughter, hunched and typing furiously. "You can't hide forever, Gracie dear." Mrs. Fang said to her, making Grace turn around to face her. Her mother closed the door behind her and watched her sighed, her shoulders drooping. 

"I am busy." She said. 

"I know the reason why you are hiding from Eunhye."

"I have a lot of work to do." She protested. 

"I know you and Haerin fought but don't take it out on the little girl. She needs a motherly figure in her life and she has already gone through so much. In two more days, she would need to bury her mother and she would need you to be there for her. Please, Grace. I thought you're better than this. Please just be around her. She is a real darling, you know. Even that Myungsoo boy." 

"Mum." She groaned but her mother raised her hand. 

"I see the way he looks at you and the way he's around you. He respects you that is why he always makes excuses for Eunhye that you're busy. Yes, he and the little girl have that bond but like I said, he has a life too. He wants to go out and date and he can't be surrounded by Eunhye all the time. He is not a babysitter or her guardian. You are." 

Her mother opened the door and slammed it shut, leaving Grace in her own thoughts once more. Though, she didn't tell her mother that the young man was growing onto her and that was one of the main reasons why she hiding away in her work. He was creeping onto her and she didn't want to be friends with him, afraid that it will grow into something more.

She was afraid of getting hurt once more especially when she has already built a wall around her heart.  

Of course, her mother was right. It was not fair for him. He wanted to take care of Eunhye but Grace was the rightful guardian. Standing up and shutting down her laptop, she walks to the door and opens it. She could see the smile forming on the toddler's lips when the girl with dark black hair that rests on her shoulders meets the young adult. 

"Mama Gracie." 

Gracie. 

"Do you want to play?" 

Let's play!

---

When Grace, Myungsoo and Dongwoo entered Haerin's apartment a few days later, Grace was utterly surprised by how clean it was. The tiles were polished, the cushions were made, the chairs arranged, the dishes washed and kept, clothes folded and it smelt like roses.

For a person who was suffering from depression and drug abuse, she managed to keep the house clean. She had dealt with parents who were on substance abuse and she could tell that their house was nothing like this. 

"She didn't want Eunhye to suffer and the last thing she wanted was social services to come running through that door." Dongwoo told Grace. There was a sadness in his eyes and Grace wondered what else did he know. There was a sense of mystery from the male lawyer and she wanted to know more about the Haerin that died.

But, of course, there was the client confidentiatlity agreement between him and Haerin that applied even after death. 

"I will help pack the things in the living area, Eunhye's things are already packed so we just need to take them downstairs later. Myungsoo, just help with the kitchen utensils. Grace, is it alright if you can take her bedroom?" When Dongwoo was finished, Grace knew that wasn't a question. It was an instruction for her to go to the room to clear things up. She wanted to say no, she didn't want to enter that room but instead, she nodded, her lips pressed down tightly. 

"First room on the left." Dongwoo informed her and Grace nodded before turning on her heel and walked away to the deceased's room. Myungsoo looked at Dongwoo and the lawyer sighed. 

"Don't torture her." Myungsoo told Dongwoo but he frowns. 

"This isn't torture." The blonde haired man told him. "She needs this." 

Myungsoo stared at him blankly before Dongwoo retreated to the living room. "Come on, we have lots to do today." 

---

Grace pushed open the door of Haerin's room, her hands were shaking with anger and with fear. The room smelt of roses, something she liked. She unconsciously smiled at the memory when Haerin once upon a time was so obsessed with everything rose related. From rose shampoo, rose air freshener and even rose tea. 

Her room was big yet comfortable for someone who was living alone and with a child. She had an attached bathroom which was white and pink her two favourite colours. Her room was painted a cream colour and hung on the wall above her bed were pictures of various walks of life. She had a rocking chair facing the window, overlooking the playground in the apartment compound. 

Grace walked foward as she looked at the pictures all lined up above her bed. A picture of her in between her parents, Jessica and Donghae on her graduation day. There was a picture next to it: a picture of her and Kevin, him kissing her on the cheek and her pretending to shove him away but she knew that she loved the affection he gave her. She felt her eyes pricked with tears when she saw a picture of Haerin and Kevin at Namsan Tower with a lock with their names on it. 

There was also a picture of Eunhye and her at the playground. She could see the gleam in her eyes were no longer there as she pushed Eunhye on the swing. She pressed her lip tight together to control herself from letting herself to break down. She could see the eyes were vacant as she pushed Eunhye and when she did smile, it never reached her eyes. 

Grace turned away from the picture frames and stopped in her tracks when she saw something else, resting on the cabinet in front of her. 

The photo frame was a light pink but the colour was fading from all those years. It had butterflies and words that were fading at the bottom. 

Sisters. It used to read. 

She walked towards it, her legs wobbly as she picked up the photo frame, her fingers holding onto them tightly, afraid that it will slip away from her grasp. Unlike all the other photo frames, this was dusty and it was definitely not placed there before, not until recently. 

The photograph was old, the colour fading from over exposure but it made her heart sink down to the pit of her stomach as she stared at it. She closed her eyes as she turned her back to rest on the cabinet. 

They were at the countryside for a trip with Jessica and the Fangs. They stayed in a cabin that had a stable, fresh fruits and vegetables and a big backyard for them to roll in. The fresh air, the smell of wood burning in their little smoke house, the chickens clucking, the sweet berries they would use to eat as their reward and the sound of the river flowing down stream. 

The one thing they enjoyed the most though was the old swing on the oak tree near the house. Every day after they were done picking berries and catching chickens, the two girls, hand in hand, would sit on the swing under the big oak tree. 

Mr. Fang was afraid because the swing was old, they would get hurt but being that age, they defile Mr. Fang's orders. The both of them would swing lightly as they looked at the chickens in the pen running around from a distance. Haerin, the smaller girl in the picture, leaned on Grace as they watched the little farm animals retire for the day and although they couldn't see it in the picture, Grace was holding Haerin's hand while the other was holding the rope of the swing. 

But, that was a long time ago.

She opened her eyes and slammed the photo frame on the cabinet, her chest heaving and ragged as she tried to take in as much oxygen she could. She was trembling. 

She hated it.

She hated her. 

She hated how Haerin was able to control her even from the after life.

Was this some sort of revenge for breaking their friendship?

Was this some sort of self-pity from Haerin? 

Was she expecting some kind of apology from Grace? 

Letting go of the photo frame, she started pulling out things from her cabinet in a mad rage. She was screaming, throwing her clothes all over the room. Once that was empty, she would proceed to the next drawer, doing the same thing, throwing and thrashing the clothes and bags of the deceased. She continued to throw bags, perfumes and other accessories all over the room, breaking once they reached the ground. 

In a heartbeat, she heard footsteps rushing towards her and his arms around her torso within a minute. He said nothing but trying to control the woman who has broken into hysterics from anger. He tried to pull her away from the room and he saw Dongwoo at the corridor. She was still screaming and Myungsoo comforted her in order to calm her screaming. 

Myungsoo glared at Dongwoo for doing this to her and Dongwoo hung his head. Myungsoo felt bad for Dongwoo slightly but he knew that a woman who has not even cried since the time of her former friend's death, putting her in the room filled with things would trigger something off. 

Grace wasn't crying because she was sad but because she was angry. 

"Grace, calm down." He told her as he sat her down on the couch. She was still trying to break free from his grip but he held her tight, her hair. She closed her eyes as tears spilled from her eyes. 

"I hate her so much, Myungsoo." Her voice was a staccato: short and detached, her whole body vibrating with anger as she said it. "I hate her so, so much." 

"No, you don't." Myungsoo told her and he saw Dongwoo disappeared into Haerin's room, he presumed, giving the both of them some space. 

"I do." She looked up, her eyes still red from crying. 

"Why?" He asked.

Why.

Why.

"Why did you do it?!" 

"I said I was sorry! Please, don't do this. It was a mistake." 

Myungsoo was looking down at Grace with concern on his face and he had his full attention on her. There were a few moments in silence, just the muffled sobs that escaped from her lips as she tried to speak again.

She wanted to tell him what it was all about. 

She wanted to tell him why she hated her so much. 

Why she couldn't be around Eunhye so much. 

But, she couldn't. 

"If you are not ready, Grace, it's okay." He said to her when she didn't answer. "But, I will be here when you are."

As much as she didn't want to believe those words, she couldn't help but let her guard down, the walls around her heart slowly cracking at the sincerity of those words. 

---

As ironic as it sounds, it was gloomy on the day of the funeral.

There weren't many people that came. Grace greeted some of Haerin's ex colleagues from where she used to work in the university before she resigned. Some were Haerin's foster relatives. They cooed over Eunhye while some looked at her in disgust because she was born out of wedlock. Grace gave them a stare which told them to stay away from the little girl. Mr. Fang realizing that she would make a snarky remark, took Eunhye away from the entrance and went to show her the station of the cross. 

Not only Haerin's friends, Grace's colleagues (yes, Woohyun included) came to pay their respects. She was blessed when she saw familiar faces from her law firm coming in. Woohyun didn't say anything lewd or inappropriate and gave her a squeeze on her shoulder and walked down. Sungyeol whom she was closer to, gave her a hug. Hell, even the ever spiffy and stiff Kim Sunggyu, her boss, gave her a hug and told her that she was very strong to be able to do this. 

Minah, one of their friends from university came running and enveloped her into a back crushing hug. She still looked as glamorous as ever, even with minimal make up and all black. "Grace, I am so sorry." She said and she could tell from the dark circles under her eyes, she looked as if she couldn't sleep either. Kevin, Haerin's ex-boyfriend, was the next to come up in a charcoal coloured shirt and his hair slicked back. He looked the same since university, maybe he has gone bulkier but the soft expression on his face showed that it was still him. 

"Thank you for coming." She told the both of them and Minah nodded while Kevin gave a squeeze on her hand. Before he let go, he leaned down to her ear. 

"He might be coming." Making her eyes widen with shock. He pulled away and Kevin saw the worry flashed in her eyes. Kevin gave a quick squeeze before he let go and walked away. She stood there in utter shock but shook it off when Myungsoo made eye contact with her, who was giving the booklets on the other side of the doorway. His eyes trained on her as she gripped onto the booklet tightly. 

He was coming. 

He was coming. 

She wanted more than anything to disappear, for the ground to swallow her whole. She didn't even realize when Myungsoo came up next to her and pried the booklets from her hands. 

"Are you alright?" His voice was low yet smooth like liquid silver. She turned around and rubbed her left arm nervously. "Go sit down. I will come join you shortly. The service is about to start anyway." When she didn't answer. Grace looked at the man who was dressed in a black shirt and black slacks, his black hair combed to the side. 

"You sure?" She asked him, 

Myungsoo nodded and smiled softly at her. "Positive. I will be there in a minute. Go sit down. I’ll be there." 

---

After the ceremony, everyone slowly drifted away from the grave site. The funeral went well and everyone was moved to tears when Eunhye gave a short and sweet eulogy about her mother. Grace sniffed a little when the little girl spoke about her mother as if she was the perfect woman in her life. She even saw Myungsoo wicking away tears from the corner of his eyes. She was supposed to give a eulogy but she didn't want to. She didn't want it to be anymore lengthy than necessary. 

Of course, that was an excuse for her that she didn't have anything nice to say.

The Fangs decided to bring Eunhye for lunch at a cafe somewhere in town and Myungsoo was about to follow them when he realized that Grace wasn't coming along, saying she would want to stay for a while. 

"I will stay with her." Myungsoo told the Fangs and they nodded. He turned around and slowly walked back to the grave site where he saw Grace standing in front of Haerin's final resting place. He stopped in his tracks when he saw someone else, a male standing a few metres away from her.

Grace stood there, holding onto the roses they have given out during the burial. She could see below the dark maple wood coffin with a gold plaque with her name on it was covered with pink and white rose petals, her favourite flower as well as her favourite colours. She remembered faintly that she wanted roses instead of earth to be thrown on her coffin. 

As much of animosity she had for the woman, she wanted to do it right for her, for her daughter at least. She slowly and carefully started plucking the soft, silky rose petals from the stems. Once she was done, she slowly dropped them into the ground below, some being carried away by the breeze but some landed gently on the coffin, covering every inch of the maple wood. 

"Hello Gracie." Grace turned around at the voice that she knew all too well. 

There, behind her, he stood: his once brown hair now tainted black, spiked up. He wore a grey suit and matching grey slacks and a black shirt and tie. He had his hands in his suit pocket as he slowly made his way towards her. He still looked the same, after all those years of not seeing each other. It was like watching a movie as her memories of those years came playing back. 

"Hello..."

Hoya. 

---

A/N: So yes, finally Hoya has made his grand appearance. The next chapter would explain more about him and the reason why Grace behaves like that. So, I hope this chapter is up to your liking (I am sorry it is messy). Till then, comment, subscribe and upvote! xx till then!